OVERLAND PARK, KS—Do you believe in magic? Sprint’s Magic Box for Hospitality enables guests to have a better streaming, app and download experience on their Sprint-enabled devices while on site, without connecting to the venue’s WiFi.
With the introduction of the IoT Factory, an online marketplace of boxed solutions, and now the Magic Box, Sprint is squarely focused on serving the hospitality industry. Reliable, secure WiFi is an essential amenity as travelers often make booking decisions on the ability to connect to the myriad devices they carry.
“With Sprint Magic Box, we can rapidly and easily enhance our service at thousands of hotels— something that was never possible before when small cells required engineering, construction (running cables) and a wireline internet connection,” said G. Jason Schnellbacher, business development manager, Sprint. “Investing in good quality wireless service at hotels will help us provide our existing hotel customers with even better service, and also offer prospective hotels more reasons to choose Sprint. And, Sprint customers visiting these venues also will get improved service.”
Studies show that wireless access is an increasing demand among hotel guests. According to Schnellbacher, it’s one of the reasons the team created the Sprint Magic Box for Hospitality, designed specifically for hotel operators.
“At no cost, we professionally install the units, regardless of if the hotel is a Sprint customer or not,” said Schnellbacher. “We strategically place the Sprint Magic Box for Hospitality devices around the hotel to help improve data coverage and increase download and upload speeds, on average by 200%. It only takes an hour or two for a smaller property, and large resort hotels can be done in one day. It’s a simple process and there’s no construction involved. We recently installed 14 of these units in an expansive 1,400-room resort in Orlando, FL, and saw incredible increases in speeds as a result.”
Here’s how it works: When Sprint customers are in range of the Magic Box, their devices seamlessly connect automatically to it, providing a strong signal and fast speeds, according to Schnellbacher. Guests near the units will not need to look for a WiFi network or click through any portal pages.
With this service, it appears to be a win-win. Hotel operators are able to provide an improved guest experience and attain higher survey scores, while guests can access a major communications network on-property for all of their connectivity needs.
The Sprint Magic Box for Hospitality also was created to aesthetically blend in public spaces, and not distract from the hotel’s design and decor. For hotels with a pool or beach area that needs WiFi coverage, the product is also water resistant.
“The most common locations inside a hotel to place a Sprint Magic Box for Hospitality are the lobby—often hidden behind curtains or next to a window—in the restaurant or bar, the back-of-the-house and office areas and in the supply or housekeeping closets,” said Schnellbacher. “Other good locations include where guests frequently use their devices, such as the fitness center, business center, meeting rooms and pool or beach areas.”
Among the benefits of the Sprint Magic Box is that it’s all-wireless and doesn’t require a wireline internet connection.
“Any hotel, regardless of size—that is in a Sprint service area—is qualified to receive a Magic Box at no cost. Due to the ease of deployment, we can rapidly and easily install these Magic Boxes and better address the needs of the hospitality industry in a way that was never possible before,” said Schnellbacher. “Since the Sprint Magic Box for Hospitality is built specifically for hotels, we want hotel owners and managers to know their guests can enjoy even better Sprint service in their locations—all at no cost. Our team is working with various hotel brands to deploy the Sprint Magic Box for Hospitality in their properties.”
